Free To Air

All about Freeview and Free To Air TV

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There are many Free To Air TV channels available via satellite. Such as Freeview, NHK world, Russia Today, Press TV, Thai TV Global. These channels can be picked up easily and are free. Freeview is also available via your terrestrial antenna or aerial and can provide channels in Full HD. This allows the viewer far more choice and it is all Free To Air.

It is not difficult to receive these channels. All you need is the correct size dish, which is not much bigger than your standard sky dish, and couple more parts. All of the work can be carried out by a professional installer, or yourself. However to reduce the hassle factor, I suggest using a professional installer.

Full High Definition (Full HD) for free to air is received via the Terrestrial service (Aerial). please be aware that there are 4 different resolutions of High Definition and the only Full High Definition is 1920 by 1080 resolution. The three other versions are all of lower resolution. More detail is available at the High Definition page

Free to Air comes in two forms. The first being Terrestrial via your TV aerial. The second is via satellite.

With regard to the new Terrestrial service via your aerial, you need to ensure you have the correct aerial to receive the new didgital signal.

TV is changing for the better in New Zealand, from the old analogue signal to the new digital signal. What does that mean for you, well it means that you will receive crisper, clearer picture via you TV aerial.
What do I need to do to receive the new digital signal? Well, if you live in an area of New Zealand that has not already changed over to digital, then you will probably need to upgrade your TV aerial to one that will receive the new digital signal. Also you will need to check that your TV is capable of receiving the new digital signal. If your TV has a cathode ray tube (CRT), then it probably will not handle the new digital signal. How can you get around this issue without buying a new TV? Buy a set top box from a retail store or from Tradme. Or buy a new TV with a built in Free to air tuner.
There are two kinds of set top boxes, one for terrestrial signal from your digital TV aerial, or satellite set top box connected to your satellite dish.
For more specific information on going digital www.goingdigital.co.nz

This site allows suppliers to advertise their products and services so visitors to this site can quickly and easily learn about what is available and what they need. And finally who they can purchase from locally along with installation services.

There are far more Free to Air channels than what is provided by Freeview. These are available from other satellites and can be viewed with the same Free to Air (satellite) set top box that you use to view Freeview channels. To learn more check out the Satellite TV Page.

Apart from the satellite dish or terrestrial aerial, you will need a set top box. There are two sorts of set top boxes being satellite or terrestrial.

Another option is to operate through your computer with a tv card. This can be done easily with the new Windows 7 Media Centre Edition, which will be released in the next couple of months. More information on this system which is referred to as a Media Centre or HTPC is available at mediacentre.net.nz or on the Media Centre page of this site.

What is the best way to receive Free To Air or Freeview?

There are several ways, however for most people, the easiest way is through a set top box. For those that are keen, there is the option of utilizing a computer. Using a computer allows people to do far more than just view Free To Air. Your computer can become a Media Centre, allowing you to play DVD's, check the weather, play music, surf the net, check emails, and more.